Novel way to identify new genes

Scientists have found a novel way of identifying new genes involved in genetic diseases.

Scientists have found a novel way of identifying new genes involved in genetic diseases. The findings, reported in Nature Genetics, were made using a database of more than 25,000 protein-protein interactions compiled by the team at John Hopkins University (JHU), US and the Institute of Bio-informatics (IOB) in Bangalore.

“It is the most detailed study yet describing the interplay of proteins that occur in cells during health and disease,” said Akhilesh Pandey, an assistant professor at JHU. “Genes are the blueprints for proteins, but proteins are where the action is in human life and health,” Pandey said.

“The ability to find links between sets of proteins involved in different genetic disorders offers a novel approach for more rapidly identifying new candidate genes involved in human diseases,” he said.